Charles Bronson

A look at the actual regiment from which came The Dirty Dozen .An all-star cast energizes Robert Aldrich\'s classic World War II action drama about a group of 12 American military prisoners assembled by tacticians and ordered to perform a suicide mission: infiltrate a well-guarded chteau and kill the Nazi officials vacationing there. The incarcerated soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, jump at the chance to redeem themselves. Major Reisman (Lee Marvin), the non-criminal in charge of the group, whips the men into a crack unit, uses them to best the troops of his by-the-book superior officer, Colonel Breed (Robert Ryan), in war games, then leads the steely antiheroes on their perilous assault. The film is studded with standout performances, including Telly Savalas as a religious psychopath with a febrile animosity toward Germans and John Cassavetes in an Oscar-nominated portrayal as an insubordinate, poison-tongued hothead. Ernest Borgnine, Donald Sutherland, Charles Bronson, and football legend Jim Brown further round out the impressive collection of talent. Aldrich, who by the time of The Dirty Dozen had been fathoming the darker side of life onscreen for more than a decade (Kissme Deadly Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?), scored a huge hit with this rousing thriller laced with a stinging cynicism perfectly in tune with the increasingly skeptical tenor of the times.

Captain Virgil Hilts escapes a POW camp on a motorcycle. John Sturges\'s dramatization of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered out all the most talented escape artists of the Allies\' and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures. Of course, as soon as they arrive, the prisoners begin work on a series of tunnels under the direction of Roger "Big X" Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). He assigns the POWs to jobs according to their specialties: Bob "Scrounger" Hendley (James Garner) steals necessary items, Eric "Dispersal" Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) hides the soil being dug from the tunnels, and Danny "the Tunnel King" Willinski (Charles Bronson) and Colin "the Forger" Blythe (Donald Pleasence) have self-explanatory handles. For more than a year, 600 prisoners, most of whom won\'t be leaving, work toward an escape that will temporarily disrupt the operations of the German army. A host of big-name stars meshes beautifully in this meticulous re-creation of the legendary escape. Although this is a film about courage, Sturges wisely takes a low-key approach, leavened with humor, rather than allowing the cast to indulge in macho antics. However, McQueen\'s memorable motorcycle stunts could be said to fit in that category. THE GREAT ESCAPE, based on the book by Paul Brickhill, is quite simply one of the grandest war films ever made, featuring many key scenes (McQueen\'s motorcycle chase, McQueen tossing the baseball against the cell wall, Bronson sliding on his chest in the tunnel) that are unforgettable.

The soldiers are caught before they can escape. John Sturges\'s dramatization of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered out all the most talented escape artists of the Allies\' and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures. Of course, as soon as they arrive, the prisoners begin work on a series of tunnels under the direction of Roger "Big X" Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). He assigns the POWs to jobs according to their specialties: Bob "Scrounger" Hendley (James Garner) steals necessary items, Eric "Dispersal" Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) hides the soil being dug from the tunnels, and Danny "the Tunnel King" Willinski (Charles Bronson) and Colin "the Forger" Blythe (Donald Pleasence) have self-explanatory handles. For more than a year, 600 prisoners, most of whom won\'t be leaving, work toward an escape that will temporarily disrupt the operations of the German army. A host of big-name stars meshes beautifully in this meticulous re-creation of the legendary escape. Although this is a film about courage, Sturges wisely takes a low-key approach, leavened with humor, rather than allowing the cast to indulge in macho antics. However, McQueen\'s memorable motorcycle stunts could be said to fit in that category. The Great Escape, based on the book by Paul Brickhill, is quite simply one of the grandest war films ever made, featuring many key scenes (McQueen\'s motorcycle chase, McQueen tossing the baseball against the cell wall, Bronson sliding on his chest in the tunnel) that are unforgettable.